While Melbourne is still preferred to Sydney, the gap amongst young people is falling as young Australians increasingly choose Sydney & Canberra for a holiday

Melbourne is still Australia’s preferred holiday destination for young Australians with 320,000 14-24 year olds nominating Melbourne as their preferred capital city holiday destination over the next two years, it is up only 11,000 (+3.6%), on a decade ago. In comparison young Australians are increasingly choosing Sydney – now preferred by 180,000 Australians under 25, up 48,000 (+36.4%) in a decade, and Canberra – by 79,000 Australians aged under 25 and nearly double the 41,000 that chose Canberra as a holiday destination in 2007. The results from Roy Morgan’s latest Roy Morgan Holiday Tracking Survey show that Melbourne risks losing its position as Australia’s preferred holiday destination in the future as other cities increasingly find ways to appeal to young up and coming Australians. Roy Morgan holiday preference figures for 14-24 year olds 2007 v 2017: Melbourne 2007 (309,000) cf. 2017 (320,000). + 11,000 (+3.6%). Sydney 2007 (132,000) cf. 2017 (180,000). +48,000 (+36.4%). Canberra 2007 (41,000) cf. 2017 (79,000). +38,000 (+92.7%). See here for full release.